My partner is a psycho who does like 90% of her graphic design work on a 13" macbook air using only trackpad

i have no idea how all those people are doing their work.

like people in cafes "working".

and what screen is visible on a sunny day outside.

Plug in mouse. If you need to, pllug laptop into external monitor(s)/TV

I have fond memories of my Macbook Pro's touchpad. That was over a decade ago, I still haven't found a comparable experience.

I prefer a trackpad while I work, and the reason is simple: Much less movement to switch from trackpad to keyboard than from mouse to keyboard. And much easier to land on the key you want without looking.

And I very much doubt you'd be faster than me with a mouse!

You're assuming these people are doing something useful, they could be dealing with Microslop licensing as their full time job. Which is definitely a full time job, its just not useful work in the broader sense.

I don't own a mouse. I like the trackpad because I'm left handed and a mouse always felt weird to me left handed because schools in the 90s forced me to use it right handed.

I've stopped caring about being fast. In fact I'm certain my current setup is slower, more comfortable, and funner than any I've enjoyed before.

If you feel good and you're enjoying your setup then that's what matters.

I use a tiling window manager and copious number of workspaces. It helps with the feeling of claustrophobia if anything can be easily full-screened and swapped around easily.

A 64" monitor with floating windows now feels clunky to me compared to a 15" screen with tiling set up like I like it

Curved screens look appealing (I imagine also good for gaming), but I don't think I'd want to try them for work as a graphic designer. I need straight lines to look straight :)

Agreed.

If you can do your work on a 13" laptop with no mouse or external monitor without your productivity dropping off a cliff, you were never productive to begin with.